Latest / Bible Chat Devotional / May 28 - Strength for the Inner Life

Transcript

May 28 - Strength for the Inner Life · Bible Chat Devotional

• 0:02
  Welcome to Bible Chat, where we have devotional conversations
• 0:06
  rooted in scripture and relevant for today.
• 0:10
  May. 28th The path that leads to life.
• 0:13
  We make decisions every day that feel completely reasonable in
• 0:16
  the moment. A shortcut that saves time.
• 0:19
  A choice that avoids discomfort. A path that looks good from
• 0:23
  where you're standing and then weeks, months, sometimes years
• 0:27
  later you look back and realize the direction you were heading
• 0:31
  wasn't actually toward anything good, it just felt like it was.
• 0:36
  Proverbs chapter 16, verse 25 is one of those verses that's worth
• 0:41
  memorizing because it tells the truth about something we all
• 0:44
  need to hear regularly. There is a way that seems right
• 0:48
  to a man, but it's end is the way to death.
• 0:51
  That's not trying to be dramatic, it's naming something
• 0:55
  real. Our own instincts and feelings
• 0:58
  are not always reliable guides. What feels right, especially in
• 1:02
  a moment of temptation, peer pressure, or emotional pain, is
• 1:06
  not always what leads somewhere good.
• 1:09
  We need something more trustworthy than our own gut to
• 1:12
  navigate this life well. And then verse 26 adds an
• 1:16
  interesting balance. The appetite of the laboring man
• 1:19
  works for him. His hunger drives him on.
• 1:22
  There's a positive kind of hunger, the drive towards
• 1:25
  something meaningful, the motivation to work and grow and
• 1:29
  pursue what matters. That hunger is a gift.
• 1:33
  God designed you with desire and ambition and longing for
• 1:36
  purpose. The question is simply what that
• 1:39
  hunger is aimed at. When your deepest desire is for
• 1:42
  what is true, good and life giving, that hunger becomes
• 1:46
  fuel. It drives you forward in the
• 1:48
  right direction. Ephesians chapter 3, verses 17
• 1:52
  to 19 show us what being rooted in the right thing actually
• 1:55
  looks like. So that Christ may dwell in your
• 1:58
  hearts through faith. That you being rooted and
• 2:02
  grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all
• 2:05
  the Saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
• 2:10
  and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.
• 2:13
  Rooted and grounded in love. Not rooted in achievement.
• 2:17
  Not grounded in other people's opinions.
• 2:20
  Rooted in the love of Christ. A love so vast and deep and wide
• 2:24
  that it genuinely surpasses your ability to fully comprehend it.
• 2:28
  And yet, it's not distant or abstract.
• 2:31
  It dwells in you. It lives in your heart through
• 2:34
  faith. When that's your foundation, you
• 2:36
  have something stable enough to navigate every confusing
• 2:39
  crossroads. Because the question isn't just
• 2:42
  what feels right anymore. The question becomes what aligns
• 2:46
  with who I am in Christ and where He is leading me?
• 2:49
  That's a completely different navigation system.
• 2:53
  And Ephesians chapter 3 verse 20 caps it all with one of the most
• 2:57
  extraordinary promises in the New Testament.
• 3:00
  Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we
• 3:03
  ask or think according to the power at work within us, far
• 3:08
  more abundantly. Not just a little more than you
• 3:11
  hoped. Not just enough to get by far
• 3:14
  beyond what you could ask or imagine.
• 3:16
  And here's the key. According to the power at work
• 3:19
  within you, not external to you, within you, the same Spirit that
• 3:24
  raised Jesus from the dead is at work inside you right now, able
• 3:28
  to do things in and through your life that you genuinely cannot
• 3:31
  conceive yet. So don't settle for the path
• 3:35
  that merely seems right. Choose the path that leads to
• 3:38
  life. Even when it's harder.
• 3:40
  Even when it costs you something.
• 3:42
  Even when the other way looks easier because you are being led
• 3:46
  by love, empowered by a God who does more than you can imagine,
• 3:50
  and rooted in something that will never give way.
• 3:53
  Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for
• 3:56
  warning me that not every path that feels right actually leads
• 4:00
  somewhere good. Help me to stay honest with
• 4:03
  myself and to bring my choices to You rather than just trusting
• 4:06
  my own instincts. Root me and ground me in Your
• 4:09
  love so that I navigate life from that foundation.
• 4:14
  And God, I trust you to do far more in my life than I could
• 4:16
  ever ask or think. Work through me, lead me and
• 4:20
  keep me on the path that leads to real life in Jesus name,
• 4:24
  Amen. What if the battles hitting your
• 4:26
  family are not random and your home can become a place where
• 4:30
  darkness loses every right to stay?
• 4:32
  The Secured Home is a powerful six book prayer series for
• 4:36
  believers who want to guard their households with biblical
• 4:38
  authority, peace and confidence in Jesus Christ.
• 4:42
  Book 1, Guarded Thresholds, fortifies every doorway, room,
• 4:46
  and entry point with prayerful protection.
• 4:49
  Book 2, Cleansed Rooms, helps reclaim spaces marked by fear,
• 4:54
  unrest, and spiritual defilement.
• 4:57
  Book 3, Closed Breaches, exposes hidden access points and severs
• 5:01
  every agreement with darkness. Book 4, Broken Assignments,
• 5:06
  confronts oppression, torment, and attacks against your family.
• 5:10
  Book 5, Consecrated Walls, dedicates every space and rhythm
• 5:15
  of the home to God. Book 6, Abiding Peace, shows how
• 5:19
  to maintain spiritual order, rest, and holy presence every
• 5:22
  day. Order now on Amazon or visit
• 5:26
  prayerscripts.org. Now I invite you to spend time
• 5:30
  with God in today's three-year Bible reading plan.
• 5:34
  Proverbs chapter 16 verses 25 to 26 World English Bible There is
• 5:40
  a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to
• 5:43
  death. The appetite of the laboring man
• 5:46
  laborers for him, for his mouth urges him on.
• 5:49
  Ephesians Chapter 3 World English Bible for this 'cause I,
• 5:54
  Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
• 5:59
  If it is so, that you have heard of the administration of that
• 6:02
  grace of God which was given me toward you, how that by
• 6:06
  revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I wrote before
• 6:10
  in few words. By which when you read, you can
• 6:13
  perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ, which in
• 6:17
  other generations was not made known to the children of men.
• 6:21
  As it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets
• 6:24
  in the Spirit, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow
• 6:28
  members of the Body, and fellow partakers of His promise in
• 6:32
  Christ Jesus. Through the Good News of which I
• 6:35
  was made a servant, according to the gift of that grace of God
• 6:39
  which was given me according to the working of His power To me.
• 6:44
  The very least of All Saints was this grace given to preach to
• 6:48
  the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make
• 6:52
  all men see what is the administration of the mystery
• 6:55
  which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things
• 6:59
  through Jesus Christ. To the intent that now through
• 7:02
  the assembly the manifold wisdom of God might be made known to
• 7:07
  the principalities and the powers in the heavenly places,
• 7:11
  according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ
• 7:14
  Jesus our Lord. In Him we have boldness and
• 7:18
  access in confidence through our faith in Him.
• 7:21
  Therefore I ask that you may not lose heart at my troubles for
• 7:24
  you which are Your glory. For this 'cause I bow my knees
• 7:28
  to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family
• 7:32
  in heaven and on earth is named. That He would grant you
• 7:35
  according to the riches of His glory, that you may be
• 7:39
  strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner person.
• 7:42
  That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith to the end.
• 7:46
  That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be
• 7:50
  strengthened to comprehend with all the Saints what is the width
• 7:53
  and length and height and depth, and to know Christ's love, which
• 7:57
  surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the
• 8:00
  fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do
• 8:04
  exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according
• 8:08
  to the power that works in us, To Him be the glory in the
• 8:12
  assembly and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and
• 8:15
  ever. Amen.
• 8:19
  Thanks for joining us on Bible Chat, where Scripture meets
• 8:23
  everyday life. If today's devotional encouraged
• 8:26
  you, share it with a friend and be sure to follow the podcast so
• 8:30
  you won't miss the next conversation.
• 8:32
  Until next time, stay rooted in truth, anchored in hope, and
• 8:35
  walking daily with. Jesus.